Nokia Home Communications today launched the Media Terminal, a new product for the home that combines Internet media technologies and digital broadcasting technologies. The software platform is based on open standards and technologies: Linux operating system, Xfree86-windowing system, the Mozilla web browser and compliant protocols and standards. The hardware is based on embedded Intel X86 computer architecture combined with a Nokia DVB receiver module, hard disc and additional network interfaces based on PCI modules.
The Media Terminal enables full Internet access and push-type Internet services over TV broadcast networks. It will initially be available for DVB broadcast networks. It will also be available in an ADSL version enabling full Internet media decoding capabilities for TV viewers. The main features of the Media Terminal include full Internet access, split screen TV/Internet, pause/replay of live broadcasts, digital TV recording to hard disc, video on demand, file audio player, e-mail, 3D games, digital TV/radio, and access to connected devices such as printer and digital camera.
Nokia's commitment to the open source community is strong and Nokia therefore intends to make source code available in order to maximize freedom to create applications for the Media Terminal. This way Nokia also gives developers in the open source community a toolkit to reach a substantially wider audience and application space than before.
"To be successful in the fast-moving Internet environment we need to aim for an open Internet community with a multitude of players. Nokia takes a strong part in this community by adopting an active open source strategy. We want as many players as possible to join us and bring the industry forward: consumers, application developers and hardware manufacturers alike. Nokia's first step is the cooperation with Convergence Integrated Media GmbH to develop a standard low-level DVB API for our Linux-based Media Terminal", says Rickard Nelgér, Head of Media Terminal Product Management, Nokia Home Communications. The API will be released on www.linuxtv.org.
The Nokia Media Terminal will be available for consumers in the end of the 2nd quarter 2001.
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Nokia Home Communications, part of Nokia Ventures Organization, develops home products for communication, entertainment and wireless networking through combining Nokia's expertise in IP technologies, digital broadcasting and mobile telephony.
Nokia is paving the way to the Mobile Information Society with its innovative products and solutions. The company is the leading mobile phone supplier and a leading supplier of mobile, fixed and IP networks, related services as well as multimedia terminals. In 1999, Nokia's net sales totaled EUR 19.8 billion (USD 19.9 billion). Headquartered in Finland, Nokia is listed on the New York (NOK), Helsinki, Stockholm, London, Frankfurt and Paris stock exchanges and employs more than 60 000 people
Further information:
Katarina Hägg
Nokia Home Communications
+46 709 93 83 57 or +46 8 793 83 57
katarina.hagg@nokia.com
www.nokia.com